Eliot Spencer
by peacefulsands
Summary: 50 sentences, 1 for each of 50 prompts - a 'story' entwined in each


**Fifty Sentences About Eliot Spencer**

Written for the 1sentencefic challenge - 50 prompts, 50 sentences, tell a 'story' with each.

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Eliot Spencer**

**Doll** - Every time Eliot has to catch her when she jumps from a window, he can help but be scared of her fragility; he's sure she's as breakable as a child's doll.

**Nightmare** - His life has been full of violence; one long nightmare that he doesn't want to bring down on the rest of the team.

**Smile** - He doesn't smile a lot in his line of work, instead he saves it up for the people who matter most.

**Feather** - The fact that Hardison was being a fool saying he could kill someone with a feather hasn't stopped him pondering how he could make it work.

**Jump** - He's exhausted; he doesn't want to jump to anyone else's orders for a while, that's why he takes off without telling anyone else where he's going and it hasn't occurred to him yet that they'd even notice, let alone worry about him.

**Confusion** - It's a long time since he's really had to consider anyone else's feelings or well-being for anything more than a passing day or two; that's why he finds the whole team thing so confusing at times.

**Explanation** - He's getting better at not being surprised by the things he has to explain to Parker; he's almost able to spot them in advance and have his explanation ready.

**Sky** - They're city dwellers this team; he doesn't know how to tell them about the freedom of the real outdoors, the endless sky . . . the freedom.

**Name** - What's in a name, he wanted to say to Sophie that it didn't matter what she called herself, the team would still have her back, but he isn't sure that he should be so invested in them all.

**Flame** - A flicker, a small flame of hope that somehow all of the good that comes from this will make up for the bad things he had to do before.

**Eyes** - Sometimes Eliot feels like Hardison's got eyes everywhere, like there's nothing he can do in private and the man thinks nothing of stalking his co-workers for the pure amusement of having done it.

**Fight** - He can't remember a time when he gave up without a fight until now; for all he is this team's hitter, they expect him to give in to them without resistance at all . . . and the strangest thing is how often he does just that.

**Dance** - He doesn't know why they're all so surprised that he can dance when a con requires it; fighting is just an elaborate co-ordination of movements, just the same principle as this kind of social dancing, but in theory there are less bruises to show for it at the end of the day.

**Winter** - The cold and wet of winter only make his job, his life harder; the accumulation of injuries that all choose winter to flare up and remind him how hard won this life has been.

**Drink** - He's been there himself, felt the urge to drown himself in liqor and hope that it all just goes away, but he's seen how that never really works for Nate and that is enough to keep him just this side of losing himself in a bottle tonight.

**Perfect** - He likes cooking, the concentration he can apply, immersing himself in creating a perfection that is missing from life in general.

**Expression** - Parker calls it his 'growly face' but really he thinks it can't look that bad because it certainly doesn't make her keep her distance when he wants to be left alone.

**Escape** - He can submerge everything into this role, the last line of defense, the protection; his purpose to make sure the others escape alive and in one piece.

**Mask** - It's easier to hide behind a mask of invulnerability, than let anyone know who the real Eliot Spencer is and what he wanted from his life before he got this.

**Bonds** - He's tied to this band of thieves and con artists in a way he never expected; the bonds between them are something he's never really experienced before.

**Home** - It's been a long time since he's let himself have a real home, but he's comfortable enough here to let himself have a few concessions to permanence, a few things that tie him here and mean something to who he is.

**Hair** - He doesn't expect anyone to understand the hair, but it's him and it's how he wants to wear it and he's got a fist that he's willing to use to back up his right to do so.

**Forgotten** - There's a lot of stuff he's forgotten about his past . . . consciously – because he doesn't want to be that person anymore.

**Whisper** - His nights are never silent; the soundtrack to his life is the whisper of voices reinforcing the acknowledgement of his failings.

**Red** - Red means so many things : Sophie and Parker both look stunning in red dresses, elegant and perfect not that he'd ever have the confidence to put the real weight behind those words when he says them to Parker, he can't let her know that much.

**Mind** - Mind over matter lets him keep his real feelings about this team concealed.

**Temple** - He'd never admit to having spent time in a Buddhist temple with monks, honing his meditation skills, refining his awareness of his body and what it tells him, but also learning to read the energies of the world around him.

**Danger** - He wishes he could find someone who could look at him and see beyond the aura of danger that he carries with him.

**Bruise** - He wonders what it means that Parker spends so much time cataloguing each bruise and poking at it to see if it hurts . . . is it just wishful thinking that it means more than just Parker being a little crazy?

**Paper** - He doesn't like the assumption that he's not as intelligent as the rest of them, that he's just a hitter with no skills beyond that; maybe he doesn't have the pieces of paper to prove it and maybe he isn't a geek, but he's not got this far in life without more than just muscles.

**Temptation** - He's been tempted by many things in life, but he's honed his willpower to ensure that he doesn't just give in.

**Shrug** - He wants to just shrug it off, make out it doesn't matter; but it hurts to much to even try, so instead he walks away heading home to rebuild his walls until he can hide the real Eliot again.

**Frown** - He expects to see the weak points in the people around him, so he knows what to protect them from and what attack they're likely to bring when they turn on him, but he frowns at the realization that they see their own weak points as well, because then he has to admit that maybe they see more of him than he wants.

**Down** - He doesn't ever want to admit how hard it is to take a fall, to lie down and not get back up for the greater good; something inside him fights it with every fiber of his being.

**Comfort** - He can be gentle, he can offer comfort when any one of them is hurt, but he doesn't know what to do with it when any one tries to do the same for him.

**Loss** - He's never had this before, something that he's really afraid to lose, but he can't deny it any longer that the mere thought of the loss of these people fills him with dread.

**Found** - He's found a place where they almost accept him for who he is, flaws and all.

**Mercy** - When his past catches up with him, he doubts any mercy will be shown.

**Trouble** - His momma told him he was trouble right from the get-go, he doesn't think her opinion would ever change.

**Hate** - He hates anyone who harms children or women, sometimes he has to rein in the rage and remind himself that the team need him to keep the victims safe or he'd still be there beating the bastards to a pulp.

**Broom** - There are times when he thinks he should just do a clean sweep and stop pretending this is a life he can have.

**Shield** - Sometimes when he flashes the wallet that holds the fake shield in the face of a vulnerable victim, he wants it to be real; he wants to be able to drag them away somewhere safe where they can put it all behind them.

**Tree** - He's always just drifted from place to place as the will, whim or necessity took him, but now he's putting down roots, a place to stay, somewhere to come back to, people around him and it's taking some getting used to.

**Sleep** - He doesn't sleep much; the nightmares never cease to remind him of past failures and the possibilities for more in the future.

**Alley** - He doesn't actually enjoy the violence, it's just a necessity; but this he actually does hate, as he stumbles to his knees in an alley, counting for the right instant to lash out and topple his opponent ensuring he's got the upper hand again and ignoring the slosh and slip of questionable substances around him.

**Present** - This is nowhere he imagined he could ever be.

**Caught** - He's always tried to make sure he doesn't get caught obviously, but he still lives with the memory of those times when plans fell through and he ended up captured; he's only just beginning to accept that nothing like it can happen again, because this team would do everything they could to get him back.

**Now** - Judging the distance, the blow, the swing of his opponent, he's counting down until NOW when he lets fly with just the right cut to lay out the bad guy quickly and efficiently, leaving him free to move on to his next objective.

**Up** - There was a time in his life when the only way was up . . . that time is not now.

**Click** - It's a very distinctive click . . . and Eliot can't help the smug grin that spreads over his face as the click of an empty gun barrel echoes between him and Mr Nasty, giving him all he needed to win this.


End file.
